Concerning His Afterlife
by Fivercon
Summary: The newly deceased Uchiha Sasuke is nowhere near ready to rest in peace. He's determined to do anything to join the living once more and that includes driving his well meaning guardian angel to the brink of insanity. AU. SasuSaku.
1. Her Dead Charge

A/N: I am a SasuSaku addict and I just can't stay away. Not that it's a bad thing of course.

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

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1: Her Dead Charge 

"And _that's_ why you are still single and unhappy!"

Uchiha Sasuke looked at his best friend with the dullest look he could muster. Honestly, he couldn't care less about the ridiculous relationship advice being shoved down his throat by his happily married friend.

"Well, at least I am rich and satisfied."

Naruto groaned and went back to his drink. Day after day, week after week he would try to convince the handsome twenty-four year old to get married or at least try to have a girlfriend but to no avail. Being the best friend meant that he had to look on the bright side of things and rule out the possibility of Sasuke swinging the other way; otherwise that would have been rather...uncomfortable. Not to mention that Sasuke would probably have beat him to a bloody pulp.

_There's always tomorrow. I'll convince him tomorrow…or maybe the next day…uh yeah, I'm setting my sights on next month. Yeah, definitely next month. _

"All right, I'm off." Sasuke stood up and put some money down for their drinks while sighing at Naruto's disappointed look. "Grow up, you idiot. I've got to go to work. Tell Hinata I said hey."

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto shrugged and blew some air into his straw making the orange juice bubble.

Sasuke sighed again and headed out of the bar thus completing his routine meeting with Naruto. It was the same every week. They would go out, eat ramen or have a drink and Naruto would bombard him with questions on why he was still single or what not. Sasuke knew he had good intentions but it was getting really old. So what if he was still single? Plenty of people were still single at twenty-four. Besides, what was all this hype about marriage and relationships? He tried it once, absolutely _hated_ it and had stayed away ever since.

Looking back to the bar, Sasuke saw Naruto's slumped figure on the stool still blowing bubbles into his drink.

He was the perfect image of the struggling blue collar worker. The man still wore the same shabby coat ever since their college days despite the Christmas, birthday and the just-because-you-look-so-pathetic presents he had accumulated over the years from an exasperated Sasuke. Not only was it just the shabby coat but there were those same damn shabby shoes too.

The truth was that Naruto had always been very unlucky with money and no matter how many times Sasuke would try to help, he would always refuse. Sasuke hated that Naruto wouldn't accept any money from him but there was no helping the stubborn blond. And still, despite all the lack of financial security and struggles, Naruto managed to be the happiest man Sasuke knew.

What an enigma.

Now, Sasuke was a compassionate person. He cared for his old college buddy more than he lets on. What harm was there in wanting to help Naruto financially? After all, that was the most he could do since Sasuke wasn't exactly an expert in matters of the heart. Lending money and a willing ear was all he could do for Naruto so naturally he felt guilty.

People would never see that side of him though. All society saw was a rich, stuck up bastard who was incapable of saying a paragraph worth of words. What did they know, anyways? He worked extremely, no, _inconceivably_ hard to be where he was at and after all of that hard work, he was certainly allowed to enjoy the green that came along with it. All in all, Sasuke felt very satisfied and happy in his own way.

The whole relationship thing just didn't click with him. Even when Sasuke was the best man at Naruto's teeny, tiny sad excuse for a wedding, he had deflected all the contagious love waves that had emanated from the happy couple and spent the majority of the celebration with confused thoughts on how one person could be so utterly content.

Whatever. He _liked_ being alone in the bar, liked buying gifts for himself and liked waking up to his king-sized bed all to himself. You could call Sasuke a loner because that'd be true.

The whole narcissistic impression? Well, any human being would be a little proud if their genes were blessed. Maybe it was because of all the attention he got from the female population. Absent-minded stares, open mouths, hushed whispers, flirtatious smiles…they never did a thing for him except maybe boost his already inflated ego.

"Yeah?" Sasuke answered his cell phone as he took out his keys. "So, you need me to come in? That's fine, no it's not too late." Being a part of a business meant a busy life and time was rarely yours but he was use to it. Another late night seemed to await him as he began to make a mental checklist of the things that needed to be done.

The night air blew slightly as he opened the door to his car. For some reason, he felt his senses prickle…something wasn't right. Everything was quiet. The only prominent noise that could be heard was a police siren wailing softly in the distance.

A metal click sounded behind Sasuke making him freeze.

"Give me your keys."

Sasuke spun around to see a dark figure covered in the shadows. In one quick glance, it was obvious that this was a man and quite the amateur too. This character wore a typical black ski mask with sunglasses to cover any possible trace of identity. Maybe the thought that his get up would actually hinder his process didn't process through his mind at all.

But comical get up or not, any one would feel cold sweat and adrenaline coursing through their body once faced against the barrel of a gun.

"H-hand them over!" He heard the man's hand tighten on the trigger that gleamed from the light of a nearby lamppost. Beads of cold sweat made their way down Sasuke's face as the two stared each other down. Every muscle in his body tensed as Sasuke tried to clear his mind of the fact that he was staring death straight in the eye. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke put up his hands in surrender.

"Good."

The man smiled eagerly as Sasuke obediently made to give up the keys. Just before they were exchanged however, Sasuke shot out and pushed the man's arm away. The gun slipped from his nervous grip and fell to the pavement. Taking the opportunity, Sasuke kicked the gun further away before the man could retrieve it.

"Shit!"

The two men grappled on the ground as the sound of the police siren got louder with each second. Sasuke pinned the man's arm with his knee and made a grab for his neck. However, the man's size and strength proved him to be a competitor as he dealt Sasuke a heavy blow to his jaw. Reeling from the impact, Sasuke stumbled off the man feeling the sting and metallic taste of blood pervade his mouth.

Wiping the blood that began to trickle down his lower lip, Sasuke stood up and faced the man with a steely resolve to kick his thieving ass. Both men eyed the gun and simultaneously moved to get it before the other.

Now when Uchiha Sasuke sets his mind to do something whether it is kicking someone's ass or not, he follows through with it. That being said, the gun soon found itself in Sasuke's trembling hand and pointed at the thief.

BANG!

The sound of the gunshot rang through the empty streets.

Sasuke stopped; his whole body seemed frozen as he slowly looked down. A small bloodstain marred his white shirt and continued to enlarge as more seeped out. His opponent breathed a sigh of relief and knocked him over roughly onto the pavement. The adrenaline that once allowed him to move and fight for survival was now replaced by fatigue as every ounce of strength left him slowly but surely.

The pool of blood grew steadily.

"Didn't know I had a partner did you? Fool." The man laughed as he grabbed Sasuke's car keys.

"Hurry up, get in! The cops are coming!"

Sasuke heard the car door slam shut and the engine roar to life before the sounds began to fade away. He lay sprawled on the sidewalk with his breathing becoming more ragged by the second. Every gasping breath took more of what little strength he had left and soon Sasuke couldn't tell the difference between the dark concrete and the night sky.

There were vague screams that echoed briefly in his mind. Did someone finally come? Sasuke thought he felt someone hold his hand…it was warm, comforting yet gone all too quickly when the only thing he could feel was the coldness spreading throughout his entire body. He struggled to keep his eyes open but the heavy pull over them could not be ignored.

Bright lights.

Extremely annoying and stupid bright lights.

This was an all illuminating kind of white light…not the blurred, faded circle of light at the end of the dark tunnel. No, Uchiha Sasuke was engulfed in a luminous place that threatened to blind the life out of him had he only been alive.

"Uchiha, Sasuke. Twenty-four. Successful businessman. No relations. Killed by ordinary run-of-the-mill robbers. Few friends. Make that _very_ few friends. Rather anti-social, aren't you?"

"Hey…" Sasuke opened a bleary eye and took in his surroundings. He tried to find the owner of the monotonous voice that was currently summing up his splendid biography in two measly sentences that nowhere near described his fabulous life.

It seemed that he was in an office, sitting in a chair and facing a man taking notes and talking into what looked like a seashell of some sort in a rather bored fashion. Or at least his single eye _seemed_ bored since most of his face was covered. "What did you say?" Sasuke struggled to collect himself and get a good look around him. "Where am I?"

"I'm Kakashi. All of the new ones come to me and 'check in' you could say." Kakashi put down his paperwork and talking device for a second to give Sasuke his full attention when he realized this newcomer wasn't fully aware of the situation yet.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a 'new one.' I've worked here for three years. Although I can't recall a recent remodeling…" Kakashi only pointed to Sasuke's abdomen for an answer. Looking down, Sasuke finally the bloodstain. "Oh no…"

"Great! Now that we've got that established, let's move on." But moving on was the last thing on Sasuke's mind.

_I'm dead? What the hell is this maniac getting at? Dead. That's absolutely ridiculous._ _Who hired this whack job? This place doesn't need more screw ups than it already has. I'm going to have a talk at the meeting about hiring new employees._

Despite all of the denial that clouded his thoughts however, he did recall something about car keys, a ski mask and blood…

Oh shit.

Sasuke looked back down and was greeted by the bloodstain again. The spot just sat there, ugly and red and looking so fatal that Sasuke felt sick. Nevertheless he brought a trembling hand to the wound and damn it all, it looked like blood, felt like blood and would probably smell like blood too if he cared to test.

"T-this has got to be some kind of mistake. I _can't_ be dead, I'm only twenty-four."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, it's not like you died of old age or anything. You were killed by, like I said, two run-of-the-mill robbers. Better?"

"No, it's not _better_! How could this have happened? I want to talk to someone in charge right now. Who's responsibility is it to make sure things go right around here?!" Sasuke then proceed to the 'cursing of the fates rant' while Kakashi just sat back and prepared to be amused by his theatrics. "I don't even have a will! Those idiots won't know what I want to do with all of my money!"

"Uh-huh…" Kakashi said dryly as he continued to humor the young man for a while before his patience ran out. "All right then Mr. Uchiha, please just wait right here for your appointment."

"Appointment? With who?" But before Sasuke could further question the man, Kakashi had already promptly shut the door with a click. The newly deceased Uchiha scowled irritably as he tried to digest the fact that this wasn't earth, hell, this wasn't even heaven. Was this limbo or something? Well, wherever this forsaken place was, he did not belong in it and he was ready to leave.

"If they think I'm just going to sit here and have my sentence served to me on a silver platter, they've got another thing coming." Sasuke got up and peeked his head tentatively into a deserted hallway filled with closed doors. There were probably other "new ones" in those too. Hn. Ridculous. Taking his chance, Sasuke slipped out and headed away from the office.

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"HE'S _WHAT_?!" 

"Stop yelling."

"BUT HE CAN'T BE!"

"But he is."

"I AM SO DEAD!"

"No, _he's_ dead and you need to go talk to him. He seems to be in a bit of a shock right now and doesn't seem to be handling it very well."

"HE _CAN'T_ BE DEAD!!"

Kakashi plugged his ears, sat down and waited for the girl to stop. After several minutes of witnessing the girl hyperventilate and seeing the rest of the color drain from her already pale face, he went on. "As his guardian angel, it is your responsibility to go comfort him."

"A-ARE YOU _SURE_ HE'S DEAD?!"

"Sakura, no matter how many times you ask, my answer is still going to be the same. Now go." With that, he gently shoved her out of the door.

Despite the encouraging push however, Sakura still stood rooted to the floor, too devastated, shocked and horrified all at once to walk let alone go and confront Uchiha Sasuke. Her vision spun dizzily before her as she took deep breaths and tried to steady herself. After all, this is no time for a professional guardian angel to faint.

_Okay, calm down. You can explain it to him. Just say that you had to be gone for a bit. Of all the times, to be absent it had to be today, the day when he dies! I feel like killing myself. _

Sakura trembled as she walked down the hallway to the appointed room. So many emotions swirled around her stomach that she felt sick. Sasuke was her _charge_, her _responsibility_; he was a part of herself basically and what did she do? She was careless for a second and that had led to his untimely demise. How could she explain that to him without having her head bitten off?

As she stared at the wooden door in front of her, a lump formed in her throat. She didn't want to see him sitting there frightened and alone. After all, she knew him better than he knew himself. Ever since the day he was born as a bundle of joy into the world, she had watched over him. It was going to be unbearable for her to actually meet him since that would certainly mean that he had died…all thanks to her.

"It's all good, it's all good. Just get it over with. You can do this, you can do this, you can really do this!"

With her newly formed mantra on repeat in her head, Sakura braced herself, straightened her white robes and poofed away her comical wings and halo. This was going to be a strict business affair and she wasn't about to let any stereotypes about whimsical guardian angels affect his impression of her.

Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and opened the door to greet…

No one.

The room was empty.

Sakura's emerald eyes widened with horror as more terrible news dawned on her. Her newly deceased charge was missing.


	2. Found

A/N: This chapter was a total pain to write but hopefully it'll still be a good read. I'm trying something new with this fic so there'll be some OOC but all in good fun, 'kay? Now let's get on with it!

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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2: Found 

"_Sasuke!"_

The owner of the name flinched and looked about him in the deserted hallway. Was it his imagination or did he just hear a voice yelling his name? This place was getting weirder by the second and he needed to get away. Pronto. Trying to act as nonchalant as possible, Sasuke continued his way down the hallway, hoping that he wouldn't meet a single being until he found the exit back into the living world.

Against Sasuke's desperate hopes however, a door suddenly flew open and out tumbled two people. Or at least they resembled humans. Nowhere in Sasuke's mind were they at all remotely normal like himself.

Sasuke might have a gaping gunshot wound in his abdomen at the moment, but it was nothing compared to the walking and talking raw hamburger that stood before him. The mangled corpse cried desperately while flailing about against the other person who looked more than exasperated at having been pushed about. Quickly taking control of his gag reflex, Sasuke averted his gaze to the ceiling and moved along quickly until he rounded around the corner. Instead of leaving however, he paused momentarily to watch what happened between the obviously deceased human and his…angel?

Sasuke blinked rapidly. Yes, the Uchiha did know something about fairy tales and he distinctly remembered that angels resembled people in almost every aspect except for their other worldly wings. Gorgeous, pure white wings sprouted from their backs and unfurled in all of their majestic beauty to lift the angel high into the sky and presumably heaven.

That sounded just about right and sure enough, Sasuke stared open-mouthed at the wings of that particular man. They were definitely different than what Sasuke had seen in movies, books and paintings however. The wings didn't look related to those of the bird variety but more transparent like flimsy glass that shimmered in and out of focus. And if that wasn't enough proof for the Uchiha, then maybe the very real halo suspended on top of his head would make the skeptic side of him into a believer.

"Let me go! I'm scared! Why do I look like this?!"

"Please, stop struggling against me! I'm your guardian angel and I'm here to explain everything to you!"

"I look so gross! Man, I wanna throw up!"

_Make that two of us._ Sasuke thought as he continued to watch the angel patiently try to calm the man down.

"B-but what happened? Last thing I remember was looking at Beastie! It was breakfast time and I-I was just doing m-my j-jooob!"

The angel looked strained as if trying to figure out a way of how to break it to the poor man that this Beastie was extra hungry that morning at the zoo. "Well, to put it frankly…Beastie was excited that morning and wanted to share his love for you a little _too_ much I suppose."

"A-are you saying that I was _mauled_ to death?!" The man gasped dramatically.

"You could say that…"

Sasuke sweatdropped. How long was it going to take for this man to realize that he's dead? His horrific condition should be proof enough.

"W-where am I then?"

"Aha! I'm glad you asked! That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

_Here we go. _Sasuke inched closer to eavesdrop as he anxiously awaited the explanation. A very petty and un-Uchihalike thing to do but he was dead and lost and frankly, it couldn't get any worse.

"You're in Limbo-"

"W-why? Shouldn't I be in heaven? I only did a little bit of lying, cheating…stealing…" The list slowly became quiet murmurs as the man recollected his lifetime of bad deeds.

"Wait, let me finish. Most souls go here. Think of it as a bell curve. The majority of souls fall somewhere in the middle and it's only at the extreme ends that the numbers are very low. It's incredibly rare that someone dies and automatically goes straight to heaven or hell. A person's life isn't always so black and white, wouldn't you agree? It's complex and needs judging from people who know all the facts."

"A-all the facts?"

"Yup and this deliberation isn't based on theory and speculation. They have hard core evidence so there's no use lying. I think it's a really a fair chance to see whether it's up or down for you. Cool huh? The ultimate judging system."

"'Cool' isn't exactly the word I had in mind…"

Sasuke leaned away from the door deep in thought. So he was in Limbo. A frown made its way across his features as he realized his good deeds in life merited only average markings and he was packed in with a bunch of other commoners on the grading of this bell curve. So Sasuke wasn't a saint and his ego was rather out of control sometimes but he never really did anything horrible. Just a little conceited and cold. So what? Why was he here and how long was he supposed to stay?

"You don't seem to be in the right place."

Hearing the cold voice penetrate his thoughts, Sasuke froze and slowly turned around. There was something about the voice that wasn't friendly and experiencing that in an unknown world certainly made Sasuke's pulse race.

Instead of cowering in fear however, Sasuke straightened up and stared the owner of the deep, icy voice square in the eyes. Just because he was dead, he was not going to be pushed around like some helpless soul in desperate need of guidance no matter how true that was.

"I'm not lost so why don't you mind your own damn business."

Just looking at the man made Sasuke want to hire him for his company, order him around as a coffee supplier for several hours and then fire him for the hell of it. The way his pearlish, whitish, freakish eyes stared condescendingly at Sasuke infuriated the Uchiha to the extent where he would have pulled back his hand and punched him square in the nose if not for the fact that he had some self control. Whoever this guy was, he had the words intimidation and superiority pretty much emblazoned over his entire being.

There was no way Sasuke could have had those thoughts traveling through his mind without some of its intensity leaking out into his face, therefore the man got the gist and immediately classified Sasuke as an insolent, worthless soul that Limbo would be better off without.

"Watch what you say to me."

And before Sasuke could retort, he found himself on the floor looking up at the ceiling.

"Ow! What the hell?! What did you do, you bastard?!"

"And that would be strike three. I believe it's to Hell with you." With that, Sasuke found himself being dragged along the floor by some invisible force. The man had disappeared. Damn him!

"Hey! Let me go! Wait a minute, did he just say _Hell_?!" A cold sweat broke out all over Sasuke's body as he struggled hard to get free from the grip on his right foot. This was beyond humiliating, beyond disgrace; Sasuke swore he would get revenge on that man if it was the last thing he did. If he could ever survive getting out of this predicament that is.

"Damnit! Get off of me!" As Sasuke found himself being pulled around the corner, he managed to grab a hold of the wall. Ignoring the sweat that made his fingers slip, he willed himself to wrench free of captivity. Although he concentrated on breaking the hold, Sasuke couldn't help but notice something strange happening to the hallway. The doors and walls suddenly seemed unstable; the very corner Sasuke held onto began to lose its substance.

"W-what's going on?" Sasuke's eyes widened as a loud rumble echoed through the hallway and the walls began to melt away. Even the floor itself began to fall apart. Multiple cracks eventually gave way into a gaping hole in the floor that led to a sight that nobody would ever want to see.

Looking down below, Sasuke felt his entire body constrict in fear. Enormous flames licked the sides of the tavern below as if trying to get out. They burned violently in blinding shades of blood red and Sasuke could feel the immense heat radiate against his skin. He felt the air rush right out of his lungs as though the tavern sucked anything necessary for life into its bottomless pit the moment it opened. There was no telling how much longer he could take this lying there in cold sweat and staring into an eternity of suffering and darkness.

"Whoa, whoa there! Who did this?!"

Hearing a snap, Sasuke blinked and found himself looking once again at a perfectly normal hallway with no melting walls or a gaping hole in the floor leading to Hell. There was another snap and Sasuke's right foot fell the floor, no longer bounded.

"There we go. Honestly, how could this have happened?" Collapsed on the floor and still sweating profusely, Sasuke couldn't find the strength to turn around and see who was talking so fortunately, he or she bent over and greeted him first.

"Hey there, Sasuke-kun! I finally found you."

Sasuke stared up into friendly emerald green eyes and knew exactly who it was. There was no need for the wings or halo for verification because his instincts left no doubt in his mind about this girl's identity. The unavoidable meeting between him and his guardian angel had finally occurred and as she nervously flashed a hopeful smile down at him, Sasuke resolutely decided that he was going to make her pay dearly for what he'd been through.


	3. Wrong Cause of Death

A/N: Hola! It's summer and I figure it's about time I updated something. I mean it's been over a year! I think part of the reason why it's so hard to write these days is because I'm losing interest in Naruto- both manga and anime- and have been that way for more than a year :(

Hoping that's gonna turn around!

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3: Wrong Cause of Death

Laying on the floor and exhausted after his brief glimpse into Hell, Sasuke now found himself looking at his guardian angel. The terrifying image of fire and brimstone that would be forever etched into his memory slowly found itself being pushed into a remote corner of his mind. Now that the words 'guardian angel' flashed through his thoughts, all of the pent up frustrations he'd felt since coming to Limbo resurfaced, and Sasuke was about to make sure that this girl would get a taste of it.

"_You_." Sasuke spat the word vehemently to convey his fury but judging by the fact that the girl did nothing but smile obliviously at the unpleasant acknowledgement, he figured the effort only went to waste. Grunting in anger, Sasuke made to push himself off the floor when he felt a hand latch onto his arm and hoist him upright with surprising strength. Once at eye level, Sasuke finally got a good look at his angel for the first time.

There she stood, clad in white robes and withstanding his murderous aura with nothing but a smile on her face. Sasuke supposed she looked rather pretty but then wasn't that a given to all heavenly beings? After all, who has ever heard of an ugly angel? At the moment she looked rather normal since there was no halo atop her head nor did she sport a pair of iridescent wings. For all he knew, she could just have been a pink-haired, good Samaritan who saved him from being thrown into eternal damnation.

However, Sasuke _knew_ she was the one. She was the one responsible for this entire mess starting from when the robber shot him in the gut all the way to his harassment with the bastard that threatened to send him into Hell. While still in the middle of completing his negative impression of her, she spoke rather cheerfully:

"There you go. Sorry about all of this, Sasuke. Well, first things first! As I'm sure you're already aware of, I'm your guardian angel. My name is Sakura. It's nice to finally meet you in person!"

The girl still had that nervous grin plastered on her face as if hoping they could get off on the right foot. Well, she was wrong. Dead wrong. As a response, Sasuke gave her the deadliest Uchiha glare he could muster so that it was clear that this was going to be no chummy meeting between old friends.

Sure enough, after seeing the Uchiha's dark eyes glower at her, Sakura's upbeat attitude deflated a bit much to Sasuke's pleasure. No one was immune to the glare and angels were no exception.

Sakura bit her lip and avoided eye contact with Sasuke so there'd be less pressure to begin explaining his ordeal. Without his piercing gaze upon her, she managed to pluck up the courage to start.

"Okay…I honestly don't know where to begin except to say I'm sorry…again. As a matter of fact, I'm a _thousand_ times sorry for everything that's happened to you-"

"You think 'sorry' covers it?!" Sasuke interjected forcefully making Sakura wince. She knew he wasn't a happy person to begin with but having all of his rage directed towards her was something she'd never plan on happening.

"Let's see, uh…before we get down to business, let's go inside this empty office room here so we can have a seat. You look like you could use it." Sakura opened the nearest door and graciously motioned for him to go in first.

"You think _I_ can use it?!" Being treated like a damsel in distress only served to make the Uchiha's disposition worse but fortunately, Sakura was completely unaware that her kind gestures weren't helping. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke ignored his shaking body and stalked past his guardian angel into the room and slumped down into a chair. He mentally ran through a list of questions and complaints to bombard Sakura with once the chance was given.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura closed the door and situated herself across from her brooding charge. She folded her hands neatly on the table and tried to think of a good place to begin.

"Alright, how about we do this? You can ask me any questions you like and I'll answer to the best of my abilities. Afterwards, I can fill you in on the rest. How does that sound?"

Sasuke scoffed but complied anyway. "Fine. Let's start with what happened back there. Care to explain why I was almost sent to Hell? I thought you people here at Limbo were all about being _fair_ and judging people based on their good deeds, not send them off into oblivion for a minor infraction!"

Much to Sasuke's astonishment, Sakura let out a little laugh before explaining. Did she think that was some kind of joke? "Oh, so you've already heard of the routine 'Justice of Limbo' spiel?" After seeing that Sasuke didn't find that remotely amusing, she coughed and continued. "Yeah, you weren't really going to be punished. Someone was just trying to scare you- kind of like a joke. You know, funny haha…"

"A _joke_." His nails dug into his palms as he tried to control his temptation of bursting out of the room and hunting down the guy who pulled the prank.

"I think I know the person responsible for this. Was it a guy? Tall, long dark brown hair, crazy white eyes and a holier-than-thou attitude?" Sakura asked and ticked off the characteristics on her fingers.

"Yes. The asshole."

"Yeah, that was Neji. Sorry, he's kind of like the security guy around here. It's really easy to set off his short temper so don't worry, you aren't the only one he's tricked. What you saw was just an illusion of Hell. If it was the real deal, there'd be no way I could stop it with a mere snap of my fingers."

Sasuke mentally swore yet again that he would get revenge on the Neji bastard before he went to Heaven or Hell for good. The fatigue once again present in his body, Sasuke decided to forego most of the questions and cut right to the chase.

"Okay, just answer this last question then we're done here," Sakura was taken aback for a moment before nodding for Sasuke to go on. "Where is the exit back into the living world?"

He saw her hands tighten before she answered solemnly, "Sasuke, I can't let you go back into the living world. I'm sorry."

Sasuke ignored her completely and continued, determined to make her agree. "You know very well that I shouldn't be here right? That's why you keep apologizing left and right because you're guilty of letting this happen to me! If you want to make amends, you should lead me back to the living world where I belong. Right _now_!"

"I-I'll admit that it's my fault you died. Believe me this wasn't how you were supposed to meet your end. I don't know what happened but I do know that some of it is my fault. If there was any way I could bring you back to life, I would do it but I can't change the fact that you're-"

Sakura couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence and resorted to lower her head in guilt. She honestly wanted to help him go back to his comfortable lifestyle, back to his best friend, back to the world where people knew his name and where he should have lived for another couple of decades, but it just wasn't possible.

The silence in the room served as a little reprieve for the both of them. Sasuke, still stewing in his resentment and frustration, began to see the hopelessness in his case. He was being unreasonable. It wasn't like his death was unheard of. People die in all sorts of circumstances fair or otherwise all the time so why should he be any different and get special permission to come back to life?

The resignation started to settle his temper as he realized the chances of getting revived were slim to none. Maybe he should just be strong and look forward to going up…or down. He suppressed a shiver and looked at his guardian angel.

Sakura looked rather pitiful. It was obvious that she felt immense remorse for screwing up (in Sasuke's opinion) and anymore chastisement from him wouldn't help either of them so he decided to lay off. For now.

In an attempt to ease the tension, Sasuke manage to arrange his features into a stiff but calm look and said, "So explain to me why I'm in Limbo."

Surprised to finally hear words that were free of any animosity, Sakura perked up smiled so cheerfully that the Uchiha wondered whether if he'd just been duped by her acting or if she was just insanely optimistic.

"You are here in Limbo for a chance to find out what happened to you and I'm here to help!" Sakura said enthusiastically as though she were congratulating her charge for winning the lottery.

But Sasuke only heard half of what she had to say. "What? What do you mean what happened to me? I died of a gunshot wound."

Sakura shook her head and pulled a small black book out of her robes. Sasuke noticed that his name was etched onto the cover. "This book was given to me the day you were born. It's all about you, your life, everything that happened in your entire existence is in this book right here."

Sasuke eyed the book suspiciously as Sakura began flipping through the pages trying to find a certain part. "Who gave that to y-"

"Aha! See? Look." She had turned to a page near the end that marked a date in green ink which was followed by a paragraph. Scanning it over quickly, Sasuke realized that he was reading how he was supposed to die.

"I was supposed to die peacefully in my sleep?"

"Yup, that's the way to go if you ask me."

Sasuke never really gave much thought about how he would meet his end so his indifference was expected. What was more important however was that something did indeed go wrong. He most certainly didn't die on that date nor in that way.

"So I'm here to find out why I died prematurely?"

"That's right. I mean it's actually very rare when something like this happens. When your life was determined, everything is supposed to go as planned, down to the very last detail."

"And why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Sakura laughed and closed the book. "Well in all honesty, if you had just waited in the room like Kakashi said, a lot of trouble could have been saved."

Sasuke scowled irritably but realized she was right. If there was one thing he hated as much as being dead, it was being wrong.

But that aside, Sasuke started to see a whole new light to this situation. His death was a screw up, no doubt about that. If he could play his cards right, he could have a winning hand resulting in his return to the land of the living.

_Yeah, for now I'll just go along with whatever ridiculous rules they have here. And as for her…_

Sasuke glanced at his guardian angel who innocently smiled back completely unaware of the scheming going on in the Uchiha's mind.

_She's the key to my escape._


	4. Limbo 101

A/N: Another update in less than a year! It must be a record :)

* * *

4: Limbo 101

"Okay then, tour time! Let's go, Sasuke!"

Sakura stood up, rounded the desk and grabbed the arm of one man busy plotting away his escape from Limbo.

"Hey wait!"

With a snap of her fingers, Sasuke found himself standing in a bright blue sky hundreds of feet in the air.

For the second time that day, Sasuke's body went rigid. He wasn't afraid of heights but they were standing in midair and completely unsupported by anything. Determined to keep his surly mood however, Sasuke maintained what he hoped was a stoic look on his face and acted as though this new environment was not worth the time.

Sakura on the other hand stood next to him as happily as ever and unconcerned with the fact that they were airborne. "This, Sasuke, is the whole city of Limbo!"

Although Sasuke couldn't quite shake the possibility that he could die a second time-this time by a gruesome 700 foot drop-he was overcome by awe as he stared down upon the city below.

Limbo was in one word: busy. It was a metropolis of people rushing about, going from one enormous skyscraper to the next looking harried. Of course these 'people' were actually just fellow souls like himself and angels like his current companion. Proof was that about half of the specks moving about were zooming in and out of windows, gliding through the sky and pelting back down to the ground.

"Why are we going on a tour?" Sasuke asked as he eyed a particular angel landing roughly on the ground and ended up doing a rather painful face plant.

"I'm showing you around so that you can understand how this place works. After all, you'll be staying here for some time while we wait for your file to be processed. Could take a couple of days to a couple of decades."

"_What_?!"

Ignoring his rude outburst, Sakura continued. "As you've heard before, most souls come to Limbo for judgment. It takes a little while for their file to be processed so in the meantime, they have several options to occupy their time. First, they can watch the scenes of their life in the New Perspective Room otherwise known as the NPR."

Sasuke barely had time to register what Sakura had said before being distracted by a snapping noise and seeing shimmering wings erupt from her back.

"NO WAIT!" Sasuke shouted but was too late. Sakura had looped her arm around his and dove. For a brief second, Sasuke saw the ground hundreds of feet below rush up at him for a moment before he felt something jerk his body up again.

They were actually flying.

"Did you say something?" Sakura yelled over the wind rushing through their ears. With each beat of her wings, they propelled through the sky and Sakura skillfully avoided buildings and other airborne angels. Her charge only shook his head. Sakura had to control her laughter as she felt him hang onto her tighter. Last thing she needed was for him to feel worse than he already did.

Truthfully, Sasuke was mortified. The situation couldn't look any worse. Here he was, holding onto a dainty looking girl for dear life as though she was Superman and he was her Lois Lane. It really, truly could not be anymore humiliating.

Finally they slowed down and gently landed on the roof of a building. Sasuke immediately sprang away from Sakura, straightened his jacket and tried to look composed. As Sakura started walking to the entryway, Sasuke inwardly kissed the solid ground beneath his feet.

Once inside, there were doors lining the hall just like the place where he had initially arrived. Sakura pressed a finger to her lips but motioned for him to look into a window. Inside, he saw a relatively normal looking scene. The souls sat in rows, each watching his or her own television set. They had a remote control in hand and earphones so as to not disturb their neighbors.

"Looks a little hypnotic doesn't it?" Sakura asked as she peered in as well. Sasuke wondered what she meant for a moment before noticing the look on each soul's face. They were all mesmerized by the screen in front of them and only moved when pressing a button on the remote control. Sasuke assumed it was to rewind, fast forward or pause certain scenes of their life.

It was strange having the opportunity to relive your experiences. Sasuke felt a little nauseated at the thought of having to watch his memories again. What was the point of looking back? There was nothing you could do about it now. He'd probably end up forgoing this option.

"Most souls actually choose this option." Sakura announced, breaking his train of thought. Sasuke momentarily glared at her and wondered if she could read his mind as well as do other magical things with a snap of her fingers. "They like to see things from a third person's point of view so to speak. Sometimes it's for the better, sometimes not. A lot of souls don't watch their entire lives and end up going to counseling which is where we're headed next."

Sakura motioned for him to follow her down the hall. "What, no flying this time?"

"Aha, nope! I figure you've had enough of that for today. No need to worry, your guardian knows you best." She flashed him a thumbs-up and continued walking.

"Well, thanks." Voice dripping with sarcasm, Sasuke grit his teeth and grudgingly followed her. Shrugging it off and reminding himself of his mission to get out of this strange place, Sasuke soon got his temper under control.

Down the elevator and out the front door, the two ended up in the building next door. Once again, the place looked like a normal office building. After coming out of the elevator, Sakura stopped outside of room number 729.

"Go ahead, open the door. This is our room."

Sasuke eyed her warily and then looked down at the doorknob. Easy enough. What harm was there in a simple doorknob?

Placing his hand on the cool brass surface, he turned and pushed the door open.

-FLASH-

A light burst through the door and momentarily blinded the Uchiha.

"What the hell?" Sasuke shielded his eyes from the intensity. "Why are all the lights in this place so bright?"

"This is just procedure." Sakura chirped as she pushed him into the room. Noticing the light had died down, Sasuke opened his eyes and grimaced. A screen had come down and taken his picture and not a very flattering one at that. Suddenly the picture switched to show data about his profile. An automated voice announced:

"Name: Uchiha Sasuke. Age: 24. Cause of death: Gunshot wound. Family: No current living relations. Total days deceased: 1."

"Good, good! Sounds like everything's in working order." Sakura approved as she made her way over to a desk that was cluttered with paperwork and full of personalized items. Pictures, awards and certificates hung on the crowded wall.

It was your typical office room.

Sasuke looked to the other corner of the room and saw a lounge chair. Scratch that. This was your typical psychiatric office room.

Seeing the irritated look on Sasuke's face, Sakura laughed. "Well come on now, I did say this was where we do our counseling."

Sasuke chose not to comment.

"Think of this as your room too, Sasuke. Since you're my charge, you touched the doorknob and the room now recognizes you. It can only open for either one of us. Feel free to come here anytime whether I'm here or not."

Quickly making up his mind to come here whenever she was definitely _not_, Sasuke nodded. "I'm surprised there's still some privacy left in this place."

"Of course! This is life and death we're dealing with here. Your privacy is always in our list of priorities…well, until your judgment day. Word gets around. But other than that we're really careful. Take the NPR for example, if anyone but you looked at your television screen, all they'd see is static." Sakura shifted through the mess on her desk and found a manila folder. "This is your file. I'm going to drop it off with the processing room so we can get this investigation started."

The sooner the better thought Sasuke as they both headed for the door. "Alrighty then, we've covered two of the three options. The last choice is the Ghost Training Gym or-"

"Let me guess, GTG?"

Sakura smiled. "Well, you always did catch on quick!" Sasuke forced back the urge to roll his eyes but listened intently. This sounded like a promising place. "Let's take the subway this time."

* * *

Sasuke looked around and couldn't help but grin a little. It was just like a normal subway station. Souls were everywhere, bustling to get to their destinations. A voice boomed overhead announcing when the next train was coming and to stand behind the yellow line. Sasuke noticed that the only thing missing were angels which was kind of strange seeing as how they were everywhere in the streets and buildings above ground

"You didn't think you'd be joined at the hip to me, did you?" Sakura asked as she and Sasuke both stepped onto the train. "These methods of transportation are for the souls' convenience when they're not around their guardians. Unless of course you want me to personally fly you around. I honestly wouldn't mind."

Sasuke shot her a dirty look. "No and listen, can you stop reading my mind? It's rather annoying."

Sakura only slapped him heartily on the shoulder making him almost lose his balance. "I can't read your mind so there's no need to worry."

He scoffed. "Right."

"No seriously," Sakura shook her head vigorously. "I can't do that. It's not my gift."

Sasuke looked at her not convinced. "Then what is your gif-"

"Is this your charge, Sakura?"

The two both turned around at the sound of a droning voice. A man with a bored expression his face greeted them with a yawn.

"Excellent manners as usual, Shikamaru." Sakura said curtly as she turned back around. Even though Sasuke had only been with Sakura for a short period of time, he felt that her coldness was rather uncharacteristic.

Shikamaru only scratched his head which resulted in further messing up his unkempt ponytail. "Aw, come on Sakura. You're being troublesome. You're usually not like this."

Sakura only 'hmphed' and crossed her arms. Apparently, she was quite determined not to speak to this Shikamaru fellow.

"Would it help if I apologized?"

"No!" Sakura suddenly rounded on Shikamaru with her hands on her hips. "And what are you doing taking the subway anyway? You're a guardian. You have wings you know!"

Shikamaru only put up his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. I give up, Sakura." As the train stopped and opened its doors, Shikamaru backed out. "See you guys later and Sasuke-"

Sasuke looked up at the man, surprised that he knew his name.

"Don't let her spoil you." With that, Shikamaru saluted before his wings emerged and he shot off the ground.

Sakura let out a huff of breath and blew a strand of pink hair out of her face. Even though Shikamaru was gone, it was clear that she was still in a bad mood.

"How'd he know my name?" Sasuke asked as the train stopped and they were pushed into the crowd going out.

Sakura shrugged. "We're pretty good friends actually. I might have mentioned your name once to that lazy bum- whoa, watch your head there!"

Instinctively ducking for any overhead sign, Sasuke looked up and saw that there weren't any. He glanced back and realized that she wasn't talking to him at all. Sakura bent down and picked up an actual severed human head. Sasuke stood there in shock as he watched them hold a conversation.

"Sorry miss! I lose my head at least five times a day. Such a hassle." The head apologized profusely. "Ah, here comes my body-hurry up there!" Sure enough, a headless body came stumbling over to where they stood.

Sakura held the head on one hand and took the arm of the body with her other. "Here, let me." She expertly set the head back on the neck, making a popping sound. "There you go, good as new."

"Thank you so much! Ah-" The man suddenly paused before taking a hold of Sakura's hand and shaking it. "I recognize you! You're Sakura! I've heard so much about you."

"Well, I hope they've been good things."

"Yes, of course! And meeting you myself, it seems like they're all true. Quite a pleasure, miss!"

"It was nothing. Well, we've got to be on our way. See you!" Sakura shook the man's hand one last time and walked over to Sasuke who still couldn't tear his eyes away from the retreating soul that was previously headless. Sakura waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? You okay there?"

Sasuke pushed her hand away. "Yeah, that was…something else."

"Eh you get use to it after awhile." Sakura suddenly slapped a fist into her hand. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, didn't I? When you come to Limbo, you look exactly like how you did when you died." She lifted his suit jacket and pushed the tie to one side to reveal the bloodstained shirt. After seeing the wound, Sakura sighed deeply and looked away. "See?"

Slightly ruffled, Sasuke straightened his tie and buttoned his jacket. He didn't want to look at it either. A memory of the soul that was mauled to death resurfaced jogging his memory. It made sense. He was beginning to think that being shot in the stomach wasn't so bad after all.

"Anyway, most souls look relatively normal nowadays seeing as how most deaths are illness related. It's all heart disease lately! You don't get souls like him very often anymore but just be on the lookout."

After going up a long flight of stairs, they finally emerged into the light and stood in front of what looked like a gym facility. A sign on top read: Ghost Training Gym.

Sasuke mentally rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Here was his reasoning: Ghosts in the living world meant scary, supernatural beings. Ghosts in Limbo meant that they could perhaps have the ability to travel back to the living world. Or so he hoped.

They both headed through the doors and were greeted by a familiar masked man at the front desk. Sasuke recognized him as the man he'd spoken to when he'd first arrived.

"Ah, it's Mr. Uchiha and Sakura." Kakashi leaned over to whisper in Sakura's ear. "Glad you found him."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yes, well Neji found him first." At this, the two burst out laughing making Sasuke prickle with anger. Sakura cleared her throat. "Listen, can you show Sasuke around this place? I've got to go drop off his file."

"Sure thing."

"And please don't read that perverted book of yours while you're at it."

"Can't promise you that." Kakashi crinkled his eye in amusement before patting her lightly on the head. Suddenly an agonizing yell resounded in the room. Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. "Duty calls. Just come on in when you're ready." With that, he disappeared through the double doors.

Sasuke looked after him uncomfortably. What sort of training was this?

He suddenly felt a pat on his shoulder. "You're in good hands, Sasuke. Kakashi might seem kind of…apathetic but he's actually pretty amazing. He manages the GTG and the incoming souls on most days. He's quite the multi-tasker-"

"And pervert." Sasuke finished as he noted the poster of a busty young woman clad in very scanty clothing on the wall.

Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead. "Yes, and a pervert. Anyway, I'll be gone for a bit so take this. It's a communication device."

"A seashell? Really?" Sasuke looked skeptically at the small conch shell in his hand. He distinctly remembered Kakashi using something like this in his office as well. Could this place be any stranger?

Sakura laughed, "Technically it is but in Limbo, it's a phone so call me if you need anything. I'll have mine on me." Making sure the file was safe in hand, Sakura snapped her fingers and wings appeared again; this time a halo appeared atop her head as well. "Gotta look official." Sakura winked at an exasperated Sasuke before swiftly leaving the room in a gust of wind.

Sasuke pocketed the conch and headed through the double doors. He found himself in a gym with shiny vinyl floor, florescent lights on the ceiling and normal looking souls looking like they were practicing yoga on mats. Kakashi sat on a stool next to him, giggling as he read a book. Sasuke frowned as he was sure the book had explicit content in every page.

Seeing Sasuke however, Kakashi immediately pocketed the book, stood up and cracked his neck and shoulders.

"Well then, ready to become a ghost?"


End file.
